Hayes has been the morning news anchor at WAGA-TV in Atlanta, for the past ten years. He was previously an anchor/reporter at WXYZ-TV in Detroit and WBAL-TV in Baltimore. Early in his career, Hayes was a television reporter at KMGH in Denver and WOKR in Rochester, NY.

"When a viewer turns on the news in the morning, Mark is the kind of person they want to see," said Susan Tully, NBC 5 Vice President of News. "He has a warm delivery and makes the early wake-up just a little more enjoyable. Mark had a deeply loyal following in Atlanta because of his personable approach to giving viewers their first news of the day."

Hayes said, "I am excited to be joining the NBC 5 news family. Becoming part of such an experienced and talented news gathering team has exceeded all my expectations in taking the next step in my career. Their extraordinary vision and passion for journalistic excellence was what attracted me to this opportunity and I can't wait to be part of such an outstanding news organization, rich with history and tradition, and dedicated to covering North Texas news. It is an honor and privilege to join NBC 5."

"Mark and Deborah Ferguson will be a great team," added Tully, "Like Deborah, Mark is a tenured news anchor with a depth of experience in communicating all types of stories. We are fortunate he is choosing to make North Texas and NBC 5 his new home."

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